


the runaways

by lumaxlovebot



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Drama & Romance, On the Run, Other, Partners in Crime, Road Trips, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-04
Updated: 2019-09-10
Packaged: 2020-10-10 05:14:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20522525
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lumaxlovebot/pseuds/lumaxlovebot
Summary: Lucas Sinclair and Max Mayfield have always had a thing for each other. When they finally begin to come to terms with their feelings, they face judgement, harassment and other issues. How much can they take before they do something they’ll both regret?





	1. part one

**Author's Note:**

> this story will mention the following:   
drugs, abuse, mentions of suicide and strong language. if any of these are a trigger please click off this story.

Max climbed into El’s car with a dramatic sigh and quickly sat down in the passenger seat of the outdated Volkswagen. 

“Let me guess, Sinclair bugging you again?” El asked, a mix of concern and mischief present in her wide eyes. Max didn’t feel like talking, she was already having a horrible morning from Neil and Billy being their usual selves, but she knew El wouldn’t shut up about it until she told her. 

Max didn’t really know where to start, “Well he is but in a good way, y’know? It’s just.. when I talk to him or text him it’s like all of my problems go away. Like it’s only me and him in this fucked up world but then I realize that I have to go back to my life. Back to Billy.. and his— well you know how he is. And Neil is just... always such an asshole. He hits my mom, Billy, and even me sometimes. And my mom doesn’t even care. She says it’s “out of love” which is total bull. But yeah.. the usual, I guess.”, Max seemed perfectly fine so it confused El how she could go through all of this and still act like there’s nothing wrong.

As El pulled out of the driveway, she gave Max a comforting look and a soft smile. That’s all it took for Max to know that her bestfriend understood her. 

The drive was unusually quiet. The girls always rock out to some 80s tunes and sing to each other but it’s different now. El didn’t really know what to say and neither did Max, so they just sat there in silence for the ten minute drive to school. 

Max was the first to speak up when they exited the car. “So, are we just not gonna talk for the rest of the day or..?” Max smiled brightly, waiting for a response. 

“Of course! I just didn’t really know what to say..”

“Let’s forget it even happened, K?”

“Forget about what you said about Lucas? No way! I’m never letting you live that down. You had the biggest heart eyes ever!”

“Oh my gosh, at least I’m not all like “Oh, oh I love Mike Wheeler soooooo much and I wanna have a future with him and own a puppy, a kitten, oh oh maybe a hamster too-“ Max was going to finish her embarrassing but accurate imitation of her bestfriend but stopped when the voices of Mike, Lucas, Will, and Dustin were heard from behind them.

“Hey guys! What’re are you talking about?” Will questioned the girls, his eyes narrowed. He looked like he knew exactly what they were talking about but that was just a weird talent of his. He comes off as imitating but he’s far from that. 

El and Max stood there in silence for about a minute or so, not knowing what to say. 

Will was the one to break the uncomfortable silence. “I’m just joking with you guys! I don’t actually care what you guys were talking about.” He couldn’t stop laughing at their faces full of anxiousness and worry. 

As the group walked to their first period, the boys joked about what happened minutes earlier and the possibilities of what El and Max could’ve been talking about. Max and El were clearly not amused by their silly bickering but they were used to it so they just went with it. 

“You should’ve seen the look on your faces! You guys practically shit your pants!” Lucas exclaimed with a bright smile plastered on his face.

Max knew exactly how to shut Lucas Sinclair up, “Do you ever shut up, Stalker?”. That’s all it took for Lucas to quiet down. 

“You know I hate it when you call me by that stupid nickname, MadMax.” 

“Yeah I do, why do you think I said it? Stalker.”

Lucas didn’t do anything. He didn’t bicker back. He always said he didn’t like that nickname Max bestowed upon him but deep down, he loved it. He loved the memories of eighth grade the nickname brought with it, the memories of his first days with Max.


	2. part two

Max hated first period. It was AP Chemistry and she hated science with a passion. The only reason she looked forward to it every morning was because of Lucas Sinclair. They sat next to each other and she’d admire him when he wasn’t looking, not knowing he’s doing the exact same. She’d think of the possibilities of them dating or how they’d act. She imagined holding his hands in the halls, not caring what anyone thought. She imagined going on a movie date and ordering milksha-

Her daydream was interrupted by her teacher, his voice sounding much louder than before. 

“Maxine! I asked you a question!” 

Max blushed from embarrassment, “Sorry, what was the question?” she asked quietly.

”I asked if you wanted to be Lucas’ partner. Everyone has chosen their partner while you were daydreaming about god knows what!”

Max thought for a moment. She wanted to say yes but she was afraid of how Billy would react to Lucas coming over to their house. It has been three years since the incident happened and she wasn’t sure if Billy still hated Lucas. She figured she could just go over to his and there’d be no problem. So she finally responded after a couple seconds. 

“Yeah, I’ll be his partner.” 

She saw Lucas smile slightly at her response and her heart almost jumped out of her chest. 

“Okay well now that everyone has a partner, I’ll be going over the requirements for the project and you guys can read the packet for more. So, you will be working collaboratively with your partner. Meaning you won’t have one person doing all the work, you both have to chip in. You will have to write an essay to go along with your research and create a creative poster or some sort of model of your research. That is all, please go over the rest with your partner and have a good rest of your day!”

Lucas couldn’t wait to work on the project with Max. They’ve never really hung out outside of school or a facetime call, if you consider that hanging out. He approached her at her locker and struggled to get his words out fully. 

“Hey, do you wanna like- do you want me to walk you to your second period? I’m just asking so we can talk about the project and what we’re gonna do. You don’t have to of course I’m just suggesting-” 

He was cut off by the sound of Max’s voice, “Yeah, let’s go and stop rambling please it’s annoying.” 

Max started walking and Lucas followed. His second period was gym, across the school but he wanted to talk to Max and if that meant being a minute or so late to his favorite class, then so be it. He liked how it felt to be next to her, just walking and conversing. Lucas admired all her features, her flaming red hair and her eyes that appeared as the summer blue sky. Comforting and warm. He took in the view of her freckles that danced so very prettily across her face. It was just something about her that made his insides go to mush. 

“So, when are we gonna start working on the project?” Max asked. 

“After school if you want, we can go to the library or my house. My mom misses you, it’s been so long.” Lucas replied, sporting a smile so bright it could light up a dark room. 

“Yeah it has! I miss her and Erica so much, we all used to be so close.”

”I bet! So, meet me at the patio at dismissal and I’ll give you a ride to my place. We can even get milkshakes somewhere too!” Lucas knew he was getting overly excited but he didn’t care. The last time Max and him were this close was in the eighth grade— they’re juniors in high school now. He missed his bestfriend. Max felt the same and was trying to keep her cool at the mention of milkshakes. She was daydreaming about a moment similar to this just minutes ago in class. 

“Yeah, okay! Well here’s my class so I’ve got to go, see you later?”

Lucas instantly regretted his next words, ”S-see you later alligator!” _Why did I say that? Why am I all flustered? Oh my god she’s never gonna forget this. _<strike></strike>

Max just laughed it off and entered the classroom. 

Lucas had approximately one minute to get to gym resulting in him sprinting throughout the halls. He made it five seconds before the bell rang and quickly got in line. Even a couple seconds after his heart was supposed to stop racing, it continued with every thought of Max. 

***

It was lunch time now. The boys were on their way to the cafeteria along with El and Max next to them. Mike and Lucas kept whispering about something and they weren’t discreet about it either. It began to piss Dustin off. 

“What are you two loudly whispering about?!” Dustin asked the boys. 

Mike’s eyes darted towards El and Max. “Sh, we’ll tell you later.”

”Do not tell me you like Max or something— I swear to god Mike.”

Mike made a face of disgust, “Why would you say that? That’s literally so rude.”

”Oh, so you like El?” 

Will chimed in, “Mike likes El? I fucking knew it! Only took him like five years to realize!” 

Mike’s eyes look like they were about to pop out of their sockets. “Will! Shut up!”

El stopped walking and turned to face the commotion that was occurring behind her. 

“What are you guys talking about now?” She asked, Max right by her side. 

“Oh it’s just stuff about class, don’t worry about it.” Mike replied, his eyes looking everywhere but her eyes. An obvious sign that he’s lying. But El let it go, she didn’t want to push the topic any further. 

It was silent for a couple minutes before Lucas broke the silence.

”So... do you guys wanna go see IT Friday night?”

The party, except for Max, responded in unison, “Duh!”

“What about you, Max? Don’t you wanna come?” 

“No. I hate horror movies, I get scared way too easily and it’s embarrassing. I’ll pass.”

”Okay but we’re here and we’ll help you uh.. not be scared!” Lucas made up the first excuse that came to his mind. He knew he sounded stupid but he really wanted her to join them.

“I’ll think about it..” 

That was good enough for Lucas. He knew he’d be able to convince her to go by the end of this week. He loves the IT franchise and he wants to see it end with his best girl by his side. 


End file.
